Public relations now forms a major part of the entertainment industry, business and politics. It can be a fascinating career for someone who is dedicated, creative and a strong communicator.
It involves long hours and much inconvinient over-time, but for the commited and talented few it can open doors or provide a satisfying job for life.
What does a job in pubic relations involve? Basically, you would be working to communicate the message of the person or company you represented to the wider public. In a culture often described as media saturated, it has become incredably important for businesses and institutions in the public eye to be represented positivly.
PR proffessionals communicate this message to the public through traditional media – such as press conferences for news reports, and working in connection with advertising stratagists – and through new media like the internet. Many news reports on TV, in the papers and online have their origins in articles sent out by PR agents.
However, professionals in this feild do not simply portray a false impression of a company to the media (although sometimes that is part of the job!). Good agents also conduct research and risk analysis on public attitudes, which impacts the way the institution represented performs. They look out for potential scandals that could harm the reputation of the business, and discuss these with the company managment.
There are a great number of facets of PR you could go into once you are qualified. You will either be working in an office environment, or sometimes from home – but you can look to represent businesses, charities, government agencies, famous individuals or practically any organisation that comes into contact with the general public.
So what is needed to start a career in PR? Reletivly recently, universities around the country have begun offering degrees in PR. These should deal with both the practical business and the ethical elements of the job. However, other degrees in business, management, media, English and IT are looked upon positively by employers.
Before you are eligable for a PR job though, you will need to have had some relevant experience. Normally this takes the form of an internship. To get an internship you will have to display absolute dedication to your chosen career – even if it means doing some serious work for very little pay for serveral years.
You could then decide to work for a specific organisation, or with a PR firm that represents many different clients. A starting salary in either one will be between 18,000 and 20,000 dollers, but if you have a good record or experience this could increase.
The salary for an account manager in a PR firm starts at about 35,000 dollers. This is about the same as it would be in a small-medium sized company. For a PR director at a small-medium sized company the pay can be upwards of 40,000. At the largest private companies, PR directors often earn around 70,000 dollers.
Although not everyone who enters this business will reach the top, it can still be a hugely rewarding a profitable career.
Find more PR info at http://www.public-relations-consultant.info.
Pearl Deloria has an SME management background. Find more articles here. Visit these sites for more information PR consultancy and PR consultants.
